Humidifying device for internalcombustion engines



J. T. STONE March 24, 1953 I HUMIDIFYING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed May 14, 1948 FIGF-I F l G 5 INVENTOR.,

FIG.-4

James T. Stone BY /7%d,9 0$/w.

Patented Mar. 24, 1953 HUMIDIFYING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL- COMBUSTION ENGINES James '1. Stone, Denver, 0010., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Zumbach Motor Repair Company, a corporation of New York Application May 14, 1948, Serial No. 27,064

4 Claims.

"improved in a number of respects by properly humidifying the fuel-air mixture drawn into the cylinders. In fact this phenomenon has been widely experienced by automobile operators when driving under high humidity conditions, such as in fog or heavy rain. Under these conditions automobiles have noticeably greater power and smoother operation. However, in addition to these directly noticeable improvements in performance, the following additional improvements attend proper and controlled humidification of the fuel-air mixture:

(a) Reduced pre-ignition (b) Reduced carbon deposits Lower fuel costs (i. e. increased mileage) (d) Longer engine life In fact advantage has previously been taken of this principle, specifically, in its application to military aircraft since World War II. In this particular case, the nature of the machine justified the relatively elaborate equipment required satisfactorily to control and regulate the admixture or injection of an appropriate amount of water for certain operating conditions. However, the additional expense involved in providing corresponding water-injection attachments for conventional automobile and truck motors has, generally, not been considered justified despite the known advantages and improvements to be gained.

The object of the present invention, generally stated, is the provision of relatively simple and inexpensive, yet highly effective and reliable, vacuum operated means for properly and uniformly humidifying the fuel-air mixture burned in automobile and truck type internal combustion engines, and the like.

Important specific objects of the invention include the provision of such humidifying means which may be readily adjusted or regulated with respect to the degree of vacuum required to bring the humidifier into action above idling speed and shut it off during period-s of heavy load and which is constructed in such manner as to prevent the introduction of salts or sediment in the water into the engine.

Certain other objects of the invention, will in part be obvious, and will in part appear hereinafter.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of the invention, reference may now be had to the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiment thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view showing the fuelair mixture humidifier device attached to an automobile or truck engine;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the humidifier device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, certain parts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the engine shown in Fig. 1 with the humidifier attached, and showing in broken line alternate positions in which the humidifier may be located; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of an aerator adapted to be disposed adjacent the bottom of the humidifier device shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, a conventional type internal combustion engine 5 is shown, suitable for use in an automobile or truck. The engine 5 is provided with the usual auxiliary attachments and equipment, including: a radiator 6 a fan I an exhaust manifold 8; an intake manifold ID; a carburetor II; and, an air filter l2. Air is drawn into the carburetor ll through the inlet connection 13 upon which the air filter i2 is mounted. The fuel-air mixture outlet of the carburetor H is connected with the intake manifold Ill by means of a pipe or conduit section It or may be mounted directly on the manifold as desired. The carburetor may be of con ventional design, incorporating a throttle, or butterfly valve below the fuel jets.

The vacuum-operated humidifier device of the present invention is indicated, generally, at [5 in Fig. 1. This device consists of a container [6 (e. g. a two quart Mason glass jar) provided with a cap or closure device l1 secured in air-tightrelationship thereon. The humidifier may be supported in a carrier 3 which is bolted onto the front side of the rear wall 20 of the engine compartment.

The humidifier air outlet connection 2| of the humidifier I5 is connected by tubing 22 with the inlet connection 23 of an adapter or insert 24 disposed in the conduit section I4, the outlet of the adapter being in communication with the intake manifold l0 below the throttle valve of the carburetor.

uwit'hout interference with the aerator.

air-tight relationship.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3 for a more detailed description of the humidifier I5, it will be seen that in the particular construction shown the water container it has an externally threaded, wide mouth 25. It will of course be understood that other types of containers may be used. The closure device 5'. includes a cover portion 26 which fits over the mouth 25 and is secured thereto in air-tight relationship by means of an internally threaded depending flange 21. Preferably, the air-tight joint-between the cover 25 and the mouth 25 is perfected by means of a rubber gasket 28 compressed therebetween.

At one side, the cover portion 125 .is provided with a raised portion 35 through which extends a threaded filling hole 3| provided with a closure plug 32 having a hex head 33. A ring gasket 34 is provided for the plug 32 and serves to tightly close the hole 3i so as to seal it against .air' leakage when a vacuum is applied to the container [6.

Adjacent to the threaded hole 3! there is provided an air inlet hole 35 (Fig. 2) which receives the upper end of a small diameter air tube '35 (Figs. 1 and 3) on the lower end of which is carried .an aerator 21 (Figs. 1 and 5) in the form of a fiat tubular coil having a plurality of air outlet openings 33-38 formed in the top thereof and disposed near the bottom of the container Hi. I prefer to dispose the coil parallel to but spaced slightly above the bottom of the container It, with the openings 38-38 formed in the top of the coil to permit sediment and precipitated salts to settle to the bottom It has been found that nine to twelve holes 38-38, formed for example-with a #54 drill, are adequate for the average size modern automobile motors, larger motors havinggreater cubic displacement requiring a proportionally greater number of openings 38-38 of greater diameter. vIf desired, the air inlet opening :35 could be provided with .a needle valve (not-shown).

. For proper "controland operation, the humidifier .15 should not function either 'while the engine -5 is idling (high manifold vacuum) or when it is working under very heavy loads (low manifold vacuum). In order to control the :humidifier l5 :so that it is automatically shut off during these periods, yet automatically op- .eratesxat other times, the closure device I! ineludes an .adjustable, diaphragm type valve 45, having a lower chamber El .and an upper chamber' l2, separated by a flexible diaphragm is. The :periphery of the diaphragm 43 is compressibly secured between the top edge of a cylindrical flange A l formed on the cover portion 25 and the rounded .annular shoulder 55 formed on the bottom :of a cap '46. .A plurality of stud bolts 475l secure together the annular flanges 58 and 50, respectively, of the flange 44 and the cap :45.

At its center the diaphragm 43 is provided with two part button 5! (Fig. 3) fastened thereto in The lower side of the button 5i carries a depending valve stem 52 which extends through a valve port 53 communicating between the lower or vacuum chamber 4! and the interior of the container [5. The

port 53 is shaped to mate with a lower valve 54 and an upper valvetl mounted in spaced relation on the stem 52. A compression spring 62, telescopedover the stem 52 between the lower half of the button 5| and the cover portionZti urges the valve 54 towards closed position, and

'phere.

It willbe understood that the degree of vacuum developed in the intake manifold between the cylinder valves-and the carburetor throttle valve varies with the condition of the engine and drops as the engine Wears. When in good condition, vacuum on the order of fifteen inches or more of water will be developed by an idling engine. To idle properly, the speed of air through the carburetor should be.maintained,.so the .screw 57 is adjusted to permit the spring 55 to seat the valve 5! when the engine is idling. As the load on the engine is. increased, the manifold vacuum falls, reducing the vacuum in the chamber 41 and permitting the spring 62 to unseat the valve 51, thus establishing a vacuum in the container l6 and drawing .air through the tube 35 and the aerator 21.

Under very heavy load, .arich engine mixture is desirable. Therefore, when the vacuum drops to say four inchesof water, the spring 62 shuts the valve 55 and maintains it in this position until the vacuum increases.

Since the degree of vacuum at which the valve 5 l-shouldseat is relatively fixed for all engines, the only adjustment required is with respect to the vacuum produced when the engine is idling, and this is obtained by movement of the screw 5! for any engine condition.

When the valves 55 and ti are open, air passes through the opening 35, tube 35 and aerator 21, bubbling upithrough the water in the .container is through the openings38-38. This saturates the air with water vapor and gradually evaporates the Water, which concentrates the dissolved salts in the water until they'finally precipitatetogetherwith 'thesediment in the water and may be periodically removed. The saturated airpasses through the-port 53 into chamber '41, through tube 22 and adapter 2-3 into the intake manifold Ill for mixture with the fuel-air mixture.

The:rate'at'whichwaterisevaporated depends not only "upon the operating conditions 'of the engine, but also upon the relative humidity of the airpassing through'my device, since obviously dry air will evaporate much morewater than damp or saturated air. Compensation for variations in the relative humidity of 'the:air is therefore automatic.

,It willbe understood'that if desired apair of adapters 23 may be employed for carburetors having twin barrels, and may be connected to the same or separate humidifiers !5. Although I preferto install the adapter immediately below the throttle valve of eachcarburetor barrel,

it may bemounted in other positions from which an even distribution of vapor through the manifold is obtained. I may also incorporate various at any one of several positions within the engine compartment as indicated by the alternate positions, at, b, and c. It may also be mounted on the motor itself.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that a number of modifications other than those suggested and mentioned may be made in the foregoing embodiment of the invention, and that additional embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, all matter set forth above or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 7

I claim:

1. Apparatus for increasing the humidity of air passing into a zone of variable sub-atmospheric pressure comprising a water container, a cap for sealing the container and defining an inlet tube opening and a valve passage for connecting the interior of the container with an external valve chamber formed in the cap, said valve chamber having an outlet connectable to a source of variable sub-atmospheric pressure and an open side opposite the valve passage, an inlet tube extending from below water level in the container to the inlet opening, a valve stem in the valve passage, opposed valves on the stem for sealing the passage, a diaphragm sealed across the open side of the chamber and secured to one of the valves, opposed springs on opposite sides of the diaphragm, and means for varying the pressure of one of the springs.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the inlet tube extends downwardly to a substantially horizontal spiral tubular coil in the lower extremity of the container, said coil having formed therein a multiplicity of perforations for passing air from the inlet tube upwardly through water in the container.

3. The structure defined in claim 1, wherein springs includes a bonnet extending over the diaphragm and around the spring and a screw threaded through the bonnet and engaging an end of the spring, the opposite end of said spring acting against the diaphragm.

4. Apparatus for increasing the humidity of air passing into a zone of variable sub-atmospheric pressure comprising a liquid container, a cap for sealing the container, said cap defining an inlet tube opening and a valve passage for connecting the interior of the container with an external valve chamber formed in the cap, said valve chamber having an outlet connectable to a source of variable sub-atmospheric pressure and an open side, an inlet tube extending from below water level in the container to the inlet opening, a rigid valve stem in the valve passage, opposed valves secured in spaced opposed relation on the stem for opening and closing said passage as the valve stem is reciprocated therein, a diaphragm sealed across the open side of the valve chamber opposite the valve passage and secured to one of said valves, and a spring in the chamber for urging the diaphragm outwardly away from the valve passage.

JAMES T. STONE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,119,042 Ricketts Dec. 1, 1914 1,305,944 Smith June 3, 1919 1,312,948 Bushey Aug. 12, 1919 1,485,497 Emerson Mar. 4, 1924 1,578,216 Stutika Mar. 23, 1926 1,728,916 Bone Sept. 24, 1929 1,781,356 West Nov. 11, 1930 1,856,300 Van Tuyl May 3, 1932 2,073,887 Strancke Mar. 16, 1937 2,204,277 Leigh June 11, 1940 

